Digital internal communication is not a new phenomenon–it has existed as a practice in organizations since the early 1970s and the use of digital technology in our daily work life has been growing gradually since then. However, the Covid-19 pandemic with its initial outbreak in early 2020 caused a sudden and disruptive change in the sense that it brought about an exponential increase in the use of digital communication tools and platforms in corporations across the globe. As regional and national lockdowns forced large numbers of staff members to work from home, managers and coworkers rapidly had to acquaint themselves with digital communication and develop new practices for cooperation, work and communication (Ruck and Men, 2021). Consequently, while internal communication gradually has become digitalized since the dawn of the information age in the 1970s, there is no doubt that the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated this change. And while electronic or digital communication tools and platforms are nothing new, the pace of innovation and constantly improved quality of digital platforms and tools ensure that they will continue to become an indispensable part of internal communication to ensure successful coordination and organizing. The ongoing digitalization is still haunted by unrealistic assumptions of what technology per se can do to increase the efficiency of work processes and communication with stakeholders. For example, internal social media may be rich with potentials such as collective learning, relationship building, dialogue and participatory communication, but several scholars argue that in most cases these potentials have not been reached yet (Heide, 2015; Madsen, 2017, 2018). What is important to consider is that communication technology and digital communication tools and platforms offer several new affordances (Gibson, 1979; Hutchby, 2001)(ie, possibilities for action) to organizational members, but that it is the reciprocal influence that communication technology and humans have on each other that constitutes novel forms of internal communication.

This chapter gives an overview of earlier research on digital internal communication. It also discusses what is changing in organizations as an effect of digital internal communication and what will remain the same. Further, it problematizes and discusses the possible negative implications of an increasing use of digital tools before concluding with some suggestions for future research.